Destructive distillation apparatus



Aug-25,1931. 4 I E. L. DAY 1,820,600

n DESTRUCTIVH DISTILLATION APPARATUS' Filed Dec. 17-. 1928 S-Sh eetS-Shet 1- WIT/V555 INVENTOR.

/ EDMUND L. DA Y Aug. 25, 1931. E. 1... DAY

'- DE STRUCTIVE DISTILLATION APPARATUS File'dDec; 17, 1928 s Sheets-Sheet 2' IN V EN TOR. .EDMfi/VD L DA Y WIT/V555 A TTORNEYSI Au 25, 1931. ELDAY- "1,820,600

DESTRUCTIV E DISTILLATION' APPARATUS Filed Dec. 17', 1928" 5 Shee ts-Sheet s 140M555 INVENTORY-,1

Ema/v0 4.0 Y- 5 Kat:

' M ATTORNEYS.

Aug. .25, 1931. I .E. DAY 1,820,600

DEST-RUCTIVE DISTILLATION APPARATUS I Filed Dec. 17, 1928 '5' Sheets-Sheet 4 new: nmMJ-mam -mmm 444 46 If 4 04 it;

' 49' J1 nan/55 IINVENTOR;

@ 744 7 v I I EDMUND Lfl/IY I BY g 5 j v A TTORNEYS.

Au lzs, 1931.v E. L. DAY I 1,820,600

DESTRUCTIYE bISTILLATION APPARATUS Filed Dec. 1?, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 r'v/r/vzrss INVENTOR;

EDMfl/VQ ,4. DA V A TTORNEYS.

fatented Aug-25,1931

UNIT-so, israras faarsur or -"ice;

:enmn 1. par, 01* rnr'msrtvama.

nns'rnucrivn nrsmmrronarrana'rus a lication filedliecemher, 17, "192s. -s'eria1 No. 326,590.

This invention relates to of that used in practicing destructive distillation processes, and has for'one of its-objects to."

provide a novel apparatus of this'cha'racter 5 which shallbe adapted to permit large quantities of wood, charcoal, o l, tar and other materials to be fractionally distilled in an economical and highly eflicient'manner.

e The invention has for a further objeBt-to "1 provide an apparatus of the character stated which will function in a manner to provide a distillate containing comparatively little foreign matter. V e v The invention has for a further object to provide an apparatus ofthe character stated which shall embody a plurality of fractionating units adapted to successively'act upon the, vapor during its passage through the still to remove therefrom all heavy or high in ,boiling point components, whereby to provide a distillate containingrcolhparatively little foreign matter.

The invention has for a further object to :provide an apparatus of the character stated er temperatures.

30 i provide an apparatus of the character stated wherein-the fractionating units shall be arranged within the still in a manner to efiect.

. The invention has for a further object to provide an apparatusof the character stated whereinc'ertain of the components separated out of the vapor in the column shallbe' precipitated into the retort for further distillation, and wherein the remaining components separated out of the .vapor in the column shall be directed to receptacles-from which they may 'be drawn off without opening the columns The invention has for a further object to provide an apparatus of the character stated wherein the column shall be of substantially T- form presenting a vertical column mem beraxid a horizontal column member, the ver-' ticalcolumn member having upper and lower compartments, and the horizontal column member having'upper and lower. compartments communicating with each other and with the respective compartments of the vertical column member. v t The invention has for afurther object to provide an apparatus of the character stated wherein a fractionating linit shall. be. arranged in each compartment of the column. 5

. The invention has for a further object to provide an apparatus of the character stated wherein thevertical column membershall be provided with a downwardly directed dis-' charge passage to facilitate the separation of the high" boiling point components from the vapor. 5 v The invention has for a further object to provide an apparatus-ofthe character stated .wherein the fractionating unit within the retort shall be in the form of a cartridge adapted to be readily placed within and re movedfrom the retort;

The invention has for a still further object to provide an apparatus of the character stated which shall embody means adapted to Y cooperate with means on the cartridge to insure the passage of all the vapor through the cartridge.

With the foregoing and other objects in v view, the nature of which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists inthe construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully, de t scribed and claimed, and illustrated. in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 1s a new in' front elevation of the still Figure 2 1s a sectional View on an enlarged scale taken on 'theve'rtical plane indicated by the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 's a sectional view taken on the vertical plane indicated by the line 3-3 of Figure2;" Figure 4 is. a sectional view'taken on the horizontal plane indicated by the line 4+4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a sectional? view taken? on a tion betweenthe doors and t plane extending vertically and centrally through the column of the still;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the horizontal plane indicated by the line 6-6 ,ofFigure5;

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on the,

vertical plane indicated by the line 7-'7 of Fi ure 5; I

igure 8 is a detail sectional view illustrating the manner in which the doors of theretort are secured in place and the manner in which the doors are sealed to prevent the escape of any vapors from the retort;

Figure 9 is a view in side elevation of the column of the still illustrating a modified form of the means for maintaining the horizontal column member at the required temperature;

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line 10-10 of Figure 9, and

Figur 11 is a sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line 11-11 of Figure 4.

Referring in detail to the drawings, 1 designates the retort of the still. This part is of substantially cylindrical formation, and is suspended by hangers 2 in a horizontal position within the combustion chamber 3 of a.

furnace at which may be of any well known or appropriate construction and of which 5 designates the fire door, 6 the ash door and 7.

the discharge flue; t

The front and rear doors 8 and respectively of the restort 1 are secured in place retort 1 and are provlded in their outer faces -with grooves'13 for the reception of packing rings 14. The doors 8 and 9 rest agamst the packing rings 14, and are provided with open ings'15 for the passage of the lugs 10. The

wedges 11 pass through. the lugs 10 and contact with the outer facesof the doors 8 and retort '1, and areprovided at the 9. The lugs 10 and wedges 11 of each door spaced as to permit thedoors t'o uniformly forced inwardly at all points and thus permit the packing rings '14 to be placed under such pressure as to establish a vapor tight connece retort 1.- we The retort l'embodies a material chamber 1 and 'afractionatin'g unit member 1, the vformer considerably longer than and arranged forwardl of the latter. The material is carried-by w eel supported trucks 16, and thefractionating umt isin the form of a wheel supported-cattle mounted upon rails so as to permit them to be readily moved into and out of the retort 1. The rai1s' 18 extend lo 'tudinall of and. forwardly and rearwar y be 'on the p nt -and rear ends of the retort with hinged or removable sections 18 and 18", respectively, which are adapted tobe raised, as shown by solid lines in Figure 2, to permit the ap li-- cation and removal of the doors 8 and 9. Those portions of the rails 18 that are lo-- cated within the retort 1 are secured to the bottom of the retort and terminate short of the ends thereof so as to permit the free ends of the rail sections 18 to rest upon the bottom of the retort when the doors 8 and 9 are removed and these sections are in lowered position, as shown by broken lines in Figures 2 and 4-. Those portions of the'rails 18 that are located beyond the retort l'are secured to ties 19 mounted u on the flooi' 20 of the building in which the still is located, the floor being located above the-fire doors 5 of the furnace 4.

The cartridge 17 comprises a casing 21 which is fully open at its top and is provided in its lower side with a.v centrally ar ranged and longitudinally extending vapor intakepassage 22. This passage is formed by an imperforate plate 23 arranged hori-c' zontally within and extending longitudinally of the casing 21 above the bottom thereof, and perforated plates or screens 24 extending from the side edges of the'plate 23 to the bottom of the casing. The intake passage 22 is fully open at its front end which is in communication with the retort chamber 1,

and it, is of such formation as to cause the vapor to flow through every portion of the cartridge 17 The rear end of the intake passage 22 is closed by a clean out door 24" which is hinged, asat 24", to the rear side of the casing 17; p

r The casing- 21 is mounted upon and fixed to I-beams 25 which are in turn carried by the axles 26 of flanged wheels 27 and which are arrangedinwardly of the wheels. The bottom flanges of the beams 25 vbear lightly upon the rails 18, and are provided with openings .for the of the lower portions of the wheels 27 so as to upon the 1 a r The bottom, lateral sides and top of the permit the wheels to rest 1'10 21 are spaced from the corresponding parts of the retort chamber 1". .A flange 28 which is of inverted U form,'is arranged at the'front side of the casing 21 and extends beyond the lateral sidesand top of the casing. A similar flange 29 is secured, as at 30, to. the to and sides of the retort 1 at the juncture'o the chambers 1" and 1", and a packing 81 is arnnfipid between this flange and the flange 28. e flange 28 is-held under pres- I dge sure in contact with the packing 31 by a screw R 17 Thetruckslfi and the cartridge 17am e0 32 which'is carried by' the rear door 9, bears against the rear side of the casing 21 and is 12 7 7 32 also functions to hold the casing 21 under pressure in contact withthe packing strip 35. The plate 34 is supported in upright position by the cartridge 17, and when'the cartridge is drawn from the retort it falls into the recesses 34". The plate may be easily raised when the cartridge is to be again moved into the retort 1. A packing 36 which may consist of sand or any other suitable .material, is arranged on the bottom of the retort chamber 1", and cooperates with the packings 31 and to seal the cartridge 17 within its compartment 1 in such manner as to insure the passage of all of the-vapor upwardly through the cartridge on its way from I the. retort chamber 1 to the outlet tube 37 of the retort 1. The cartridge 17 also.comprises means which acts upon the vapor in a manner to separate its heavier or higher boiling point and its lighter or lowerboiling point. components, the heavier components remaining in the retort for further distillation and the lighter components passing t0 and through the outlet 37. This means whichis designated 38 and is arranged within thecasing 17, may consist of any suitable divided substance such as broken brick, terra cotta material, baked clay or vitrified spirals such as are commonly used in acid distillation, marbles, charcoal, saw dust orother material screens or the like.

After passing through the outlet 37, the

I vapor flows into the column 38 which com- 1 with the lower'end o rises a vertical member 39 and a horizontal member 40, and-is arran ed above the retort the member 39 .in communication with the outlet 37. The column member 40' communicateswith the column member 39 below the horizontal center of the latter. A horizontal artition 41 is fixed within the column mem er 39in sub- .stantial alinement with the horizontal center.

of the column member 40. A partition 42 is removably supported within the column member 40 in a plane slightly above said center, and has one endresting upon the partition 41 and its other end spaced from the outer end of this column member. The partitions 41 and 42 cause the vapor, after passing acomparatively short distance through I the column member 39, to enter the column member40. and travel twice throughout the entire length thereof before re-entering the of the column member 40 with grates 43 and i 44, respectively, which consists of baked clay I-beams 45. Fractionating units 46 and 47 aresupportedwithin the column member 39 by the grates 43 and 44, respectively. A

fractionating unit 48 is arranged within the outer end portion of the column member 40, and has the outerend of. the partition 42 embedded therein. This unitis maintained a in place by screens 49 and 50 and the inner end portion of the partition 42. The units 46, 47 and 48 ma each be made up from any of the materials eretofore set forth, it being preferred, however, to make the unit 48 from charcoal.

During its passage through the column 38,

The components precipitated by the fractionating unit46 'will fall into a receptacle 51 and be subjected to a further distillation;

The receptacle 51 is carried by "the cartridge 17 -in alinement with the discharge flue 37. Therec'eptacle 51 is arranged centralliy within the cartridge upon the wall 23 an is sur-. rounded by the fractionating unit 38. If desired the receptacle 51 may be omitted,'and these components permitted to fall into the fractionating unit 17. The components precipitated by the fractionating unit 48 will be retained within the lower chamber of the column member 40 by a dam 52 which extends across said chamber and is secured to the bottomthereof, as at-53. Thebottom of the column member 40 is provided near the dam 52 with an opening 54 which comm'unichtes with a trap 55 provided with a drain cook 56. The components accumulating within the lowerchamber. ofhe column member 40 will subjected to further distillation.

which is dished and provided with a discharge opening 57 to convey the precipitated components into a receptacle 51 securedto the under side of the partition. "A pipe59 extending downwardly from the partition 41 about the opening 57 enters the receptacle 58 to provide a seal. A drain'pipe 60 extends from the receptacle 58 to a point beyond the column member 39,. and isv provided at its outer end with 'a drain cook. 61 withwhich is associated a trap 62.

The upper portion of the column member 39 is separated into a vertical up passage 39' and a vertical down passage 39", which communieate at their upper ends near the upper end of the column member. These passages are frormed by a vertical partition 63 which is of arcuate formation in horizontal section, and has its vertical edgescontacti'ng'ifi with and secured to the inner surface of this column member, and by a horizontal partition 63* which extends from the lower end of the partition-63 to the adj acent wall of the column member to which it is secured. The vertical column member 39 is provided with a discharge opening 64 which communicates with the lower end of the down passage 39 and with which a condenser or a plurality of condensers in series, not shown, are'cannected. After passing through the fractionating unit 47, the vapor passes downwardly through the the form of a small furnace or electric heater.

After the initial phase of the operation of the still, the column member 40 will be maintained at a temperature approximately equal to the boiling point of crude wood tar, and the means for accomplishing this may be of any suitable or well known construction. As shown, in Figures 1 and 5, this means may consist of a blower 66 provided with a drive pulley 66, a manifold 67 surrounding the outer end of the, column member 40 and re ceiving air from the blower, and nozzles-68 extending inwardly from the manifold and surrounding the column member, the nozzles, being adapted to direct the air from the manifold into contact with the outer surface of,

the column member. If desired the blower 66 may be driven directly by an electric motor, not shown, which will have its armature shaft secured directly to the shaft of the blower.

The outer end of the column member 40 is closed by a door 69 which is hinged, as at 70, and is secured in closed position by lugs 71 and wedges 72 similar to those hereinbefore described. A sealing gasket 73 is positioned between the door 69 and the column flange 74 to which the door is hinged and which carries the lugs 71. The partition 42 may be withdrawn from the column member 40 through the outer, end of the latter, and it is supported within the column member by angle bars 75, asclearly shown in Figure 7.

The upper end of the column member 39 is closed by a door 76 which is hinged, as at 77 to a flanged collar 78 fixed to this end of this member. The door 76'is counterbalanced by a weight 79 which is secured thereto by a cable 80 passing over direction pulleys 81.

The door 76 is secured in closed position by a 1ug' 82 carried by the flange 78 and extending upwardlythrough an opening 83 in the door, and by a key 84 which passes throughthe lug and contacts with the upper side of the door. This key is of fragile nature so that it will break under a pressure that would tend to disrupt the column 38. In view thereof, and as the door 76 is counterbalanced, it will swing'open whenever the pressure in the column 38 exceeds a predetermined degree. A asket 76 is provided for this door. The we ges 72 may also be fragile so that the door 69 will also function as a safety door.

This still is adapted to be used for the purpose of recovering valuable by-products from wood, charcoal, oil, tar and the like materials. When w'ood, charcoal or the like material is to be treated it is placed upon the trucks 16, while when tar or the like material is to be treated it is arranged in tanks of the type shown in my copending application, filed the 17th day of December, 1928 and serially numbered 326,591. Attention is also invited to my copending application filed December 17, 1928, Ser. NFo.'326,592.

The means for maintaining the column member 40 at the stated temperature may, as shown in Figures 9 and 10, consist of a pipe 85 which extends along the upper side of this column member and is provided in its under side with discharge openings 86. The pipe 85 has one end closed, and is connected at its other end to a source of water by a pipe 87. The water flows in streams from the pipe 85 onto the upper half of the column member 40, and is conveyed away from thecolumn member by troughs 88 which are secured to oppo-' site sides of the column member and inclined downwardly in the direction of one end thereof.

The column member 39 will be maintained at a temperature approximately equal to the boiling point of acetic acid. The means for maintaining the column member 39 at this temperature may be of any well known or appropriate construction, and is shown as consisting of a water jacket 89 surrounding the upper end portion of the column member, and provided with a supply pipe 90 and a discharge pipe 91.

The upper end of the column member 39 and the outer end of the column 40 are pro- Vided with pyrometers 92 and 93, respectively From'the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, t Wlll be understod that, immediately before its passage from the retort and several times during its passage through the column, the

vapor will be subjected to the action of fractionating units and that these units function successively and at progressively reduced temperatures in the order in which the vapor passes therethrough, with the result that the vapor is fractionated within the still and there is produced as a distillate or acetic acid comparatively free from foreign matter. The products of this highly refined distillate are materially aided by providing the vertical column member with the downwardly extending outlet passage which communicates at its upper end with the upper end of the colends with a discharge opening and umn member and atits lower end with the column outlet.

The apparatus is worked under a slight vacuum. It may be made of any desired size, and the retort and column thereof may be made from boiler, copper or other plate. If desired the trucks may, after the removal of the cartridge, be removed through the rear end of the retort. The retort and column are vapor tight, and the precipitated components or wood tar may be withdrawn from the traps and subjected to further distillation.

What I claim is: v I

1. A destructive distillation apparatus, comprising, a column having upper and lower vertical chambers, and upper and lower horizontal chambers, the upper vertical chamber being provided intermediate its provided with a passage extending from adjacent the upper end thereof to said opening, the horizontal chambers communicating at their outer ends and communicating at their inner endsrwith the vertical chambers, and fractionating units within the chambers.

2. A destructive distillation apparatus, comprising, a column having a vertical member provided with a discharge opening and a horizontal member communicating at one end with the vertical member, a partition extending across the vertical member in sub: stantial alinement with the horizontal center of the horizontal member and provided with a discharge opening, a receptacle arranged below the partition and communicathorizontal chambers communicating with each other at their outer ends and having their inner ends in communication respectively with the upper and lower vertical chambers, the upper vertical chamber being provided with an outlet opening and a discharge passage extending from the upper end of the chamber to said opening.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

EDMUND L. DAY.

ing therewith, a partition arranged within thehorizontal member in substantial alinement with said center thereof and having its inner endresting on said first partition and its outer end spaced from the outer end of said member. a dam arranged within the horizontal member below the partition therein,

a receptacle arranged at the bottom of the horizontal member and communicating therewith. fractionating units within the vertical member above and below the partition therein, and a fractionating unit within the horizontal member and having the outer end of the partition of said horizontal member embodied therein. p 3. A destructive distillation apparatus, comprising, a substantially L-sh'aped column having its vertical member and its horizontal member separated'into upper and lower compartments, the compartments of the horizontal member communicating with each other at their outer' ends and having their inner ends communicating with the compartments of the wertical member, and a fractionating unit in the outer end portion ot' the horizon tal member.

. 4. A destructive distillation apparatus; comprising, a column having upper and lower vertical chambers and upper and lower horizontal chambers, the upperand lower 

